Musical device



April 3, 1962 R. L. CHUTE MUSICAL DEVICE Filed NOV. 7, 1960 IN VEN TOR.,flwpo L. C/lurE United States Patent 3,027,794 MUSICAL DEVICE I RichardL. Chute, 418 Union St., Springfield, Mass. Filed Nov. 7, 1960, Ser. No.67,537 3 Claims. (Cl. 84-406) individually on the fingers of both handsso as to sound the scale when adjacent fingers are moved in propersequence. g

V There is "a continuing need for a musical instrument which isinexpensive, easy to play and yet is capable of pro ducing' soundsendowed with a genuine musical quality,as distinguished from the soundsof a mere toy.

Another point of importance lies in the desirability of developing amusical sounding device which is adaptable to the defects orirregularities which handicap the hands or movements of a particularplayer. While the playing of instruments is widely utilized in therapyand for the readaptation of handicapped patients, most orchestralinstruments require the use of all the fingers of both hands and a highdegree of coordination for correct playing and are not readilymodifiable to suit individual needs. The musical device of thisinvention, on the other hand, could be adapted to suit personspossessing various handicaps without losing an inordinate amount of itsplayability or its musical value.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a device forproducing musical sounds which is very easy to learn and to play, andyet is capable of producing sounds endowed with a genuine musicalquality.

Another object of my invention is to provide a musical instrument whichofiers some measure of adaptability to defects or irregularities in thehands or movements of the player.

A further object of my invention is to provide a musical irisltrumentwhich is comparatively small and easily porta e.

Another object of this invention is to provide a musical instrumentwhich is relatively inexpensive.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described orwill be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the musical device of the inven tion showingten difierently pitched bells installed consecutively on the fingers ofboth hands so as to produce the first ten tones of the aeolian mode whensounded in succession.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially showing the detail of a bellholder and the action of a finger when a bell is sounded.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention,showing a simpler and alternate form of bell holder without anyaccompanying glove.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, it will be seen that, as shownin FIG. 2, a bell 10 typically comprises a clapper 12 designed to strikeagainst the inside of a hollow, resonant metallic vessel or barrel 15.Depending "ice . on the size, weight of the barrel, bells 10 may beproduced which possess different pitches as well as a pleasing and trulymusical quality. For instance the bells inthe preferred embodiment shownin FIG. 1 may range in weight 5 from about 14 oz. for the heaviest (lowA) to'about 7 /2 oz. for the lightest (high C). With a range of oneoctave and a minor third, the arrangement which I have shown.

in FIG. 1 will be'adequate to play many melodies in the key of C and inthe aeolian mode.

In their inactive position, the bells 10 are held upright, with thehands and fingers raised, as shown in FIG. 1.

When it is desired to strike a bell, the appropriate finger should berapidly lowered into a more or less horizontal position by a motion inthe direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 2. A variety of specialeffects is possible with the bells. Thus, one may strike several bellstogether, creating harmonies and overtones. One can also lower severalbells in quick succession, creating a harp-like effect.

' Another special effect is provided by raising ones arm suddenly, or byany other sudden, fast movement of the arm.

In order to insure that the bells remain fast on the fingers, specialgloves '13 can also be used for that purpose, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2of the drawings. They are held in place securely by a string 9 tiedaround the wearer's wrist. Of course, other suitable fastening means mayalso be used, if desired. Furthermore, if desired, the gloves may beconnected to each other by any well known means, thus preventing any ofthe gloves with their associated bells from dropping to the floor whenthey are untied or loosened and therefore preventing any damage to thebells.

Rigid tubes 11 preferably mounted in the fingers of the gloves may bemade of metal or any other suitable material. The tubes help indirecting the movements of the fingers and in keeping them straightenedso as to avoid the accidental hitting of the bells against each other.The tubes also make it easier to slip the gloves on and off.

The bells themselves may be made of polished brass or some othersuitable material. They are individually mounted to the end of eachmetal tube by any desired means, for example by being tied with a solidmetal wire (not shown) which goes through the top of the tube itself.

Altemately, as shown in FIG. 3, instead of mounting the bells on thefingers of gloves, the bells '10 may be mounted on tight-fitting fingertip rings 14.

Although I have described my invention in terms of a ten-fingeredcombination of bells pitched on the aeolian mode, it is evident thatmany variants could be introduced in this arrangement without therebydeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, itwould be possible to use only one hand with bells attached to it, and toaccompany oneself with the other hand on an organ, thus lending abeautiful and unusual efiiect to the music of a church service. It wouldalso be possible for a handicapped person to use a smaller number ofbells arranged in a convenient manner to produce a great variety ofsounds of genuine musical beauty. Naturally, the musical beauty of thesounds depends to a large extent on the quality of the bells themselves,but it has been found that suitable bells of excellent musical qualitycan be obtained at comparatively inexpensive prices.

The invention can also be easily varied by tuning the bells at a greatvariety of pitches. Thus, the bells could be played by several persons,combining to form the intervals of the full chromatic scale. Obviously,the bells could also be tuned so as to produce only arpeggios in any keythat might be desired.

The bells can be played easily in any prescribed order Patented Apr. 3,1962- 3 since they can be lettered, numbered, or marked with differentcolors so that matching indicia can be marked over the musiccorresponding to the notes which are to be played. I

It will be seen that the present invention provides a musical soundingdevice which is simple, portable and inexpensive and which may be easilyplayed without special instructions.

As various. changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts herein without departingfrom the spirit andscope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages,it, is to be understood that, all matter herein is to be interpreted asillustrative and, not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A device for the production of musical sounds comprising a pluralityof differently pitched note-producing bells, means for mountingsaid-bells on the fingers of the hand, the pitch of a hell on onefingerbeing different from the pitch of the bell on another finger, saidbells being pitched in a pre-arranged manner whereby sounds can beproduced by motion of the fingers and whereby consecutive bells soundsuccessive notes on the scale.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bells are mounted on thefingers of; a glove and wherein tubes are mounted in the fingers of thegloves to keep the fingers rigid.

3. A device as claimed in, claim 1', wherein said bells are mounted onfinger-tip ring adapted to be affixed to the fingers of the user.

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Re. 16,272 Green Feb. 23,, 1,926. 385,002 Pagan June 26, 1888' 1,084,718Wanamaker Ian. 20, 1914 1,885,843 7 Langer Nov. 1', 1932 2,311,276Wilcox n Feb. 16', 1943 2,612,135 Iny '$ept. 30', 1952 2,713,805 FloresJuly 26, 1955' 2,787,929 Musser q Apr. 19, 1957 2,811,071 Gorr Oct. 29', 195.7 2,929,170 Brown et all Mar. 22, 1960

